PROTEST IN CENTURY CITY

(This article originally appeared in the September 7, 2010 edition of the Century City News)

I FOUND THE OUTRAGE AT THE JUSTICE FOR JANITORS PROTEST

By Michael Douglas Carlin

I have been asking for a very long time, “Where is the outrage?” A sitting President of the United States lies under oath… where is the outrage? A sitting President of the United States is murdered in broad daylight… where is the outrage? Civil Rights leaders are murdered… where is the outrage? Genocides are committed around the world… where is the outrage? The Earth is abused… where is the outrage? Jobs are shipped overseas… where is the outrage? Entire industries are shipped overseas to circumvent the Environmental laws of this country… where is the outrage? Pat Tillman is murdered by his own men… where is the outrage? The military covers up the truth of Tillman’s death… where is the outrage? Terrorists hold our civil liberties hostage… where is the outrage? Men who served this country in the military were disrespected upon their return… where is the outrage?

The proletariat bourgeois struggle turns another page intersecting with the history of Century City. I have been looking for some time now to find the outrage and I have finally found it.

In France, this might have come at the hand of the guillotine, in Germany and Cambodia bullets were used, Rwanda and Darfur used machetes… but here in America there were meetings, there was legwork, there was preparation, negotiations, planning, scheduling, press releases, t-shirts, signs, and oh, yes, there were arrests… I counted ten but am told there were thirteen.

I spend most of my days in Century City. I saw a couple of Police Cruisers that alerted me that something was up. I met the officers in one of the businesses where they were talking to the staff and alerting them as to what was coming down. They had been walking from building to building and alerting the building managers and prominent businesses about a scheduled protest. The two officers wore their uniforms well and they were well mannered. They worked hard to alert local businesses so that security could be added and unnecessary personnel cleared out.

The preparation was done to ensure public safety. The police were not the only ones making preparations. The Union was also making their preparations as were many others throughout the city. It was determined ahead of time that there would be arrests. Civil disobedience is an accepted form of protest in America. The script was written and each side performed their roles to perfection as if this was a Hollywood movie.

The protesters began marching up Avenue of the Stars as planned. Nobody could have scripted what happened next. Every single one of the Century Plaza Hotel workers marched in single file out of the hotel in support of their fellow workers. They lined the street in front of the hotel and began chanting in solidarity. The crowd cheered...

The issues are never simple. JP Morgan Chase owns the Century Plaza Towers and 2000 Avenue of the Stars. The property is managed by CB Richard Ellis and they have contracted ABM to supply the Janitors that are part of SEIU Local 1877. Tenants have moved out of this prestigious space due to a lag in the economy. Every company right now is examining their cost structure and ABM and CB Richard Ellis decided to cut 16 janitors from their expenses. The 29 janitors that were left walked out in protest and as a result were suspended.

But anybody that thinks this is about 16 janitors, or about ABM or about CB Richard Ellis or about Century City doesn’t really understand America. This isn’t about a bunch of space that isn’t leased and doesn’t need to be cleaned. This is about a bank bailout two years ago. This is anger about unfathomable sums of money being given to companies that were determined to be too big to fail. This is about banks that don’t care about their customers. This is about foreclosures in the wake of those massive bailouts. This is about the promise of America that one of the incredible men at ABM represents. Not too long ago he was the little guy cleaning offices and now he is management. Aaron Cohen and Carey Doss from ABM are now embroiled in a shit-storm that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Yet they find themselves front and center of controversy where other good men and women have stood up and said, “Enough!”

Neither side has the ability to fix what is wrong with America. Neither side is fully right and neither side is fully wrong. The negotiations will not bring satisfaction to either side but we have to look at the process in awe of this great country. We have to look in awe at the democratic process in action. We have to look in awe at the tremendous job done by the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Police Department to keep the fever pitch in check and keep the emotions under control.

I saw the outrage today and I know that humanity may be in trouble but we are going to right what is wrong. I saw American Patriots today on both sides of this important issue choosing peace.
In other parts of the world you hear the mob and it is too late. Here we settle our disputes in courts of law. Here we have protests that are orderly.

Justice For Janitors Protested in Century City. God Bless America for allowing a peaceful demonstration and God Bless the demonstrators, media, police, building managers and security personnel for allowing our American System to function by granting the sacred right to peacefully protest. America may have a myriad of problems but the solution lies in talking about those problems and negotiating resolutions.





Reflections On Century City Protest

by Michael Douglas Carlin

Was it Mayan? Was it Incan? Was it Aztec? It was a ritual… a spiritual ritual. Civil disobedience is a rite of passage for any activist. The arrests were made with dignity. They were made with respect. The police were there doing their job. They didn’t want to be called out into the heat – in full riot gear. They were there protecting the population from a threat. I never once saw a police officer with his or her hand on their gun. I never saw that salivation to escalate things into violence. I witnessed a true measured response. I witnessed activism. I witnessed people who moved the discussion forward by saying, “Wait! This is important. This is something that defines our community. This is something we don’t agree with.”

They gathered in Roxbury Park to make a statement. They marched up and down Avenue of the Stars and chanted in unison so that our community would stop and take note. I heard someone complaining that the permit never should have been granted. All of that traffic stopped… all of those businesses closed down. But what about the people marching and making the statement? They were taking time from their lives. They were making a sacrifice to be here making that statement. They were exercising their right... granted to them as citizens.

In Israel/Palestine the marchers would have been throwing rocks at the police and the police would have been firing rubber bullets or worse. What would have happened in South Africa? Belfast? Serbia? Afghanistan? Sri Lanka? Or Russia? No, granting the permit was the right thing to do. Sacrifices are made on every side of an argument… to keep peace. Marching was the right thing to do. Shooting video and broadcasting was the right thing to do. Taking photos and writing columns was the right thing to do. Civil disobedience was the right thing to do. Now negotiations are the right thing to do. Problem solving is the right thing to do. Working through Mayors, Councilmen, Assemblymen and Senators is the right thing to do. Working in the best interests of citizens is the right thing to do.

The demonstration gathered in the intersection of Constellation and Avenue of the Stars and the protestors marched around in a big circle. A number of protestors sat in a small circle at the center of the intersection. One woman was wearing all white… like the sacrificial lamb of old only this time not a single drop of blood was shed. Her sacrifice was made with dignity and respect. The police moved in and declared this an unlawful assembly. The words were drowned out by the chanting even though they came over a loud speaker. The protestors, that numbered in the many hundreds and may have been even a thousand or more continued their protest but they gave a little ground. The Police took a little ground and an ebb and flow of a dance began. Soon all of the protestors save the sacrificial lambs were on their way back to their lives.

Each of the civilly disobedient was extended the dignity and respect they offered by the civilly servant LAPD. They were read their rights. Their hands were cuffed behind them. They were patted down and their belongings were put into zip-lock bags. They were moved into awaiting vans for transportation to their next phase of their sacrifice. This was a beautiful dance on every side. It was activism. It was outrage – civil outrage. It was the restoration of faith in change. It was the restoration of faith in humanity. It was a spiritual ritual granted by ink on five sheets of paper called the Constitution. America gets criticized for our lack of culture. This was culture’s finest hour.

©2010 Michael Douglas Carlin. All Rights Reserved.

Michael Douglas Carlin is a filmmaker, author, and journalist. American Federale is available on iTunes, Amazon, and GooglePlay. Rise a Knight is available on Amazon. Peaceful Protests and A Prescription For Peace is available on iTunes.